"Hey, Will, are you sure… that's really the guy who beat you? He doesn't look that impressive~"
White slung an arm around Will's shoulder and said it with a grin.
The next moment, a blue glow of telekinesis enveloped him. White's voice cut off immediately, his eyes darting frantically while his body remained frozen in place.
Clair, Rose, and the others had already noticed White's situation, but seeing it was Will's doing, they all just smiled and pretended not to see.
Ten seconds later, Will withdrew the telekinesis. White, who had been struggling the whole time, lost his balance and nearly fell flat on his back.
"…Fufufu~" Seeing White's awkward state, Clair and the others couldn't help themselves and burst out laughing.
Even the normally stoic Will had the corners of his mouth curl up just slightly…
"BAAH! Come on, man, just 'cause you have Psychic powers doesn't mean you can act all high and mighty…" White muttered under his breath and quickly scurried over to hide behind Flying Master Lance.
Will raised an eyebrow with a look that screamed: 'Yeah, I've got Psychic powers. So what? Wanna fight about it?'
Fortunately, the match on the field shifted at that moment…
---◓---
Edward sent out a Pokémon that hadn't appeared in any previous battles.
A Pokémon… that was both rare and not very popular…
'Ohh, Kecleon?'
Sato raised an eyebrow, puzzled but instantly on high alert.
Ordinary Kecleon could use Color Change and "invisibility", but the zigzag pattern on its belly stood out like a candle in the night, especially on an open battlefield.
So the higher the level of battle, the less likely it was for Kecleon to appear.
Unless Edward was completely giving up, then… something unusual had to be going on!
"Battle begin!"
The referee's whistle blew. Sato didn't have time to think further and had Ariados open with a multi-layered Sticky Web test.
Pssht! Pssht! Pssht…
White Sticky Web, purple Toxic Spikes, yellow Electroweb…
Dozens of webs flew out as if they were free, blooming like fireworks across the battlefield sky.
Beautiful!
But also deadly…
The webs fell one after another, expanding from Kecleon's position at the center.
Though they looked chaotic and scattered, they were actually driving Kecleon into a carefully planned corner.
"Kecleon, invisibility."
Edward's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calm assurance.
Kecleon mirrored that completely. Its usually blank face suddenly contorted into an exaggerated taunting expression.
"Ke-ke…"
In the next second, Kecleon began to fade, blending perfectly with its surroundings.
Including the zigzag pattern on its belly!
Sato narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be simple.
The next moment, Ariados suddenly looked around in confusion. It was a subtle motion, but Sato caught it clearly.
Ariados couldn't lock onto Kecleon's presence!
The "invisibility" of Ghost-types had long since lost its edge in high-level battles.
The main reason was that opponents could still detect them using energy fluctuations, airflow, battlefield terrain, and other methods.
Ariados specialized in detecting subtle vibrations in the ground to pinpoint an enemy's location.
As long as the target moved on land, Ariados could always track it.
Not to mention, it had already set up a full Sticky Web field, but still, it had completely lost track of Kecleon.
Sliiick!
Suddenly, a dark purple Shadow Claw burst up from underground, slashing hard into Ariados's abdomen.
"DOOOS!"
Ariados, already low on stamina, took a direct hit to its fragile insect abdomen and was critically injured.
But it wasn't just Ariados. Even Sato, who had begun scanning the battlefield with Dark Energy, only barely sensed a faint energy fluctuation at the very instant of the enemy's attack.
"Return, Ari-"
Sliick… boom!
Sato's right hand, holding the Poké Ball, froze in midair. He frowned as he looked at Ariados, already taken out by the surprise attack.
"Ariados is unable to battle. Kecleon wins. Trainer Sato, please send out your next Pokémon."
A flash of red light, and Sato recalled the fallen Ariados. He glanced at the reappearing Kecleon on the field, hesitated for a moment, then sent out the still-capable Houndoom.
"Awoooo…!"
As soon as Houndoom appeared, the temperature on the battlefield noticeably rose.
No longer needing to suppress itself for tactical reasons, Houndoom was fired up and eager for another big fight!
The match resumed quickly.
"Kecleon, Invisibility!"
"Houndoom, Odor Sleuth!"
Though it really wanted to breathe fire, Houndoom lowered its head immediately and began carefully sniffing for Kecleon's scent, trying to lock onto its target.
But… even after sniffing hard for quite a while, Houndoom didn't pick up the slightest trace of Kecleon's scent.
Sato's brow furrowed deeper. He looked up at Edward and clearly saw the smugness he was trying, but failing, to hide.
The next moment, an Aqua Tail appeared out of nowhere, whipping viciously toward Houndoom.
On high alert, Houndoom reacted instantly, leaping instinctively in the opposite direction of the Aqua Tail.
But Kecleon controlled Aqua Tail with expert precision, steering it straight in the direction Houndoom had jumped!
Splash~
The Aqua Tail smacked Houndoom hard, extinguishing most of its fighting spirit in a single blow.
It didn't even know where the opponent was… how was it supposed to fight?
Just as Houndoom got back to its feet, another Aqua Tail came in from a bizarre angle.
Houndoom dodged desperately, but still got grazed, looking worse for wear.
Then came another Aqua Tail. Houndoom, frustrated and trying to flee, realized it had been cornered.
It had no choice but to Protect…
In the next second, Aqua Tail suddenly halted, and right before Houndoom's stunned eyes, it completely dissipated.
The culprit, Kecleon, finally reappeared, with small purple poison bubbles rising from its body.
It was poisoned…
From the Toxic Spikes Ariados had previously scattered!
Sato's heart lifted. For once, luck was finally on his side!
"Houndoom, Overheat!"
Without hesitation, Sato ordered Houndoom to unleash its strongest move.
After resting inside the Poké Ball for a while, Houndoom's energy had fully recovered.
This Overheat would be the strongest opening blast!
"KECLEON, GO INVISIBLE AND DODGE IT!"
Edward shouted back. A straight-line attack like Overheat wasn't hard to evade.
But just as Kecleon gritted its teeth through the poison and tried to vanish…
A jolt of electricity suddenly surged up from beneath its feet!
Paralysis…
...BOOOOOOOM!!!
With a deafening explosion, Kecleon was hit squarely by Overheat, and it detonated on impact.
At that moment, Edward could barely maintain his composure. Luck this bad was practically unheard of…
---◓---
Somewhere in the audience stands, a man with spiky hair let out a smug little chuckle, his eyes full of pride~
Beside him, a blond pretty boy just shook his head helplessly, not even bothering to stop the spiky-haired one's antics…
After all, our Leader wasn't going to lose anyway!